Jean III d'Aa, lord of Gruuthuse (''Jan III van Gruuthuse en van der Aa, sieur de Gruuthuse''; born about 1368/69, died before 1420) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

knight of the

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

noble family of

Gruuthuse The lords of Gruuthuse (''Heren van Gruuthuse'', also ''Gruythuyse''; also "lords of Bruges", ''Heren van Brugge'') were one of the noble families of Bruges in the medieval period. It was one of several families bearing the title of "lords of Bru ...

. He is notable for having fought a great

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

in Bruges on 11 March 1393 against his cousin, Jean (Wulfart) de Ghistelle, lord of Gistel and Harnes. Jean was also the grandfather of

Louis de Gruuthuse Louis de Bruges, Lord of Gruuthuse, Prince of Steenhuijs, Earl of Winchester ( Dutch: Lodewijk van Brugge; c. 1427 – 24 November 1492), was a Flemish courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman. He was awarded the title of Earl of Wincheste ...

, himself a "bulwark of Burgundian chivalry"Roy C. Strong, ''Art and Power: Renaissance Festivals, 1450-1650'' (1984)
p. 12
and a notable participant in tournaments in the 1440s. The tournament took place on the ''Groote Markt'' (great market square) of Bruges. Jean de Gruuthuse was the challenger and fought with 49 companions; Jean de Ghistelles was defendant, with 48 companions, for a total of 99 combatants. Most of the participants were from the town patriciate. There are several extant copies of full lists of participants with their coats of arms, often appended to copies of '' King René's Tournament Book'', which work of the 1460s was substantially influenced by the Bruges tournament of 1393.

References

{{reflist *Jean-Marie van den Eeckhout, ''Het Tornooi van Brugge van Dinsdag 11 Maart 1393''. Vlaamse Stam, 2010, 46/5:377-406. *Octave Delepierre, '' Précis des annales de Bruges'' (1835
38f

External links

*Steen Clemmensen (ed.)
Tournament in Bruges held 11 March 1393 led by Jean d'Aa Sr. de Gruuthuse and Jean de Ghistelles Sr. de Gistel & Harnes
(2010) Nobility from Bruges Medieval knights Medieval tournament

References

See also

External links